Event
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Mercury 20 Gallery
August 13 - September 19, 2015Info
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http://www.mercurytwenty.com/
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(510) 701-4620
Reception
August 15, 2015 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Julie Alvarado: "Rescue Me from My Rescue Cats" (2015), acrylic on panel, 10" x 12", (photo by Kate Cameron)
Julie Alvarado's fans and newcomers will not be disappointed by True Adventures. Real-life stories are painted in the really-fantastic vein of vintage pulp novels and men's adventure magazines. You just don't glaze over when confronted with the dramatic, colorful and provocative style of great old low-brow noir, and overlaying that kind of energy onto true stories from her friends' lives is pretty tasty. This is way better than Facebook. With her unfailing sense of humor and play, Alvarado embellishes personal tragedies and challenges "with drama, steroids and implants." Ha! Man vs. nature was a common theme in the pulp magazines and runs through one set of five acrylic paintings in True Adventures. The cut out panel paintings that accompany them reinforce the sense of menace, tension and, in some cases, absurdity. Men struggle to repel attacks by seals, flying squirrels, and kittens. Women find themselves at the mercy of ravaging Chihuahuas or hoping to be rescued from their "rescue" cats. In another vein, a second set of paintings chronicle, via the artist's trickster hand, some of the possible challenges of International travel. www.juliealvarado.com
Julie Alvarado moved from the Los Angeles area to the Bay area in 1993. She received her MFA from CCA in 1995. Her work shows throughout northern and southern California, and she is a member of Mercury 20 Gallery. She also works as a painting instructor and studio manager at Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland.